May 9, 2008
High-Fididelity Naming for eBay Competitor
A lot of people are unhappy with eBay right now, and throngs of alternative auction sites are stepping forward.
The most recent entrant isn’t precisely an auction site, it’s a place to haggle. (Cue excerpt from “The Life of Brian.”)
Fididel’s founder insists that the name doesn’t mean anything, or at least, fididel, pronounced fih-diddle, didn’t mean anything before the launch of this service.
Now it means “to haggle online,” and the site promises a whole family of related words. Fididelers, for instance, are people who do your haggling for you, for a cut.
Unlike competitor Wigix, whose name stands for “Want It-Got It Exchange,” Fididel’s was named for a Mexican restaurant called Fidel’s.
The name Fidel contains several layers of significance. It’s root meaning is faithful, implying honesty and reliability—not a bad thing for a marketplace to have. On the other hand, the most famous Fidel of the modern era is the communist dictator Fidel Castro—not quite the icon you want for a flourishing free market.
Technorati Tags: Fididel, eBay, Haggle, Fididelers, Wigix, Auction Sites, Fidel
Posted by Diane Prange at 12:20 PM
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May 8, 2008
Baskin-Robbins Loses Founder, But Great Product Naming Lives On
The passing of Irvine Robbins of Baskin-Robbins fame has me paying tribute to a man who really knew the value of eye catching product naming.
The name Baskin-Robbins was an amalgamation of the names of its founders, Irvine Robbins and Burton Baskin. The two men flipped a coin to see whose name came first, leading later generations to wonder if an ice cream chain called Robbins-Baskin would have done nearly as well.
Robbins discovered as a teenager that he could sell three times the ice cream if he changed the offering from “three scoops of ice cream, a slice of banana, two kinds of toppings” to “Super Banana Treat.” This was the start of a cornucopia of ice cream naming.
There have been over a thousand great flavors over the years like Valley Forge Crunch, for the 1976 Bicentennial, Lunar Cheesecake, to mark the moon landings, and Beatle Nut for Beatlemania.
After his retirement, Robbins named his boat “The 32nd Flavor.” Nice.
The Baskin-Robbins brand name itself is very powerful. The famous 31 flavors (one for every day of the month) grew from the original 21 flavors . The company, owned by Dunkin Brands is gearing up for a major US expansion with a new logo, graphics, web site, store design and of course some new product naming.
Baskin-Robbins was there with some really funky naming before the founders of Ben and Jerry’s were born and before Häagen-Dazs hit the big time (that name means nothing, really, and it invented Nordic consonance)
Basskin-Robbins’s great names for their flavors have always intrigued us and made a trip to the brightly colored stores special. This company, one of the first true franchises in the US and one of the pioneers of the high end ice cream market, probably owes its existence not only to its great ice cream, but also to the foresight of its founders, who understood that great flavors need great names.
RIP, Mr. Robbins.
Technorati Tags: Baskin Robbins, Ice Cream, 31 Flavors, Irvine Robbins, Burton Baskin, New Logo, Ben and Jerry's, Häagen-Dazs
Posted by William Lozito at 8:00 AM
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May 7, 2008
Cold Spring Name Change Not a Hot Idea
On the State of the Brand 2008 blog this week, Jason Voiovich is lamenting the loss of the Gluek’s Brewery brand name, which was replaced by the more pedestrian Cold Spring earlier this year.
The copyright notice on the company’s website still says Gluek Brewing Company, but it appears not to have been changed since 2005.
Not that Cold Spring is meaningless. It’s the name of the city where the brewery is located. And the idea of brewing your beer from cold local spring water is attractive enough. But here in Minnesota, we’ve got Cold Spring This and Cold Spring That all over the place.
There’s nothing really wrong with it, but there’s nothing really right with it, either. Nothing distinctive. And if you brew craft beers, you need distinctive. Likewise if you’re trying to break into a new and already-competitive market. (Cold Spring now produces energy drinks.)
Admittedly, those not from Minnesota might be unsure how to pronounce Gluek (which is Old German for luck), and it’s usually a good idea for new product names to be easy for English-speakers to pronounce. But Gluek is not a new name.
The 1902 Gluek House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and Gluek’s Restaurant is the oldest in downtown Minneapolis.
Around here, at least, the Gluek’s name has equity. Abandoning the name, and potentially confusing existing loyal customers, seems like a far greater risk than keeping it.
Viel Gluck!
Technorati Tags: Gluek, Brewery, Gluek's Restaurant, Gluek House, Energy Drink, Gluek Brewing Company, Cold Spring Brewing Company, Name Change, Brand Name, Minnesota, Pale Ale
Posted by Diane Prange at 8:58 AM
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April 28, 2008
Does the World Need Another Ketchup Brand?
When you think Ketchup, what's the first brand that comes to mind? Heinz, of course.
However, I read with some amusement about the invention of Sir Kensington's Gourmet Scooping Ketchup by some bright college students who appear to have found a gap in the market for high-end tomato sauce as part of what looks like a pretty ambitious marketing project.
Not so fast, guys. You have a great idea here but Heinz has already caught on. Seems that ketchup lovers in the UK are getting a gourmet version of the ketchup we all grew up with.
Some people may think "gourmet ketchup" is a contradiction of terms, and although mustard may have a certain nobility about it, Ketchup is pretty darn egalitarian. The UK Daily Mail agrees.
The problem that Sir Kensington's would face if it was indeed being launched across the US is that Heinz has created a very, very flexible brand name for itself.
Although Laura Ries would be aghast, a quick flip through their web site shows that the company is already offering a low sugar ketchup, a light version, a low carb version, and an organic version, not to mention quite a few packaging options, including "Fridge Door Fit Ketchup." 
I wish Sir Kensington's all the best, but Heinz has figured out pretty much all of the niche variations out there, one of the chief problems of trying to take market share from a brand that is now fast on its feet.
Technorati Tags: Ketchup, Sir Kensington's Gourmet Scooping Ketchup, Heinz, Organic, Reduced Sugar, Condiments, Gourmet
Posted by William Lozito at 7:56 AM
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April 22, 2008
Brandz Ranks the Value of Brand Names Globally
Millward Brown's Top 100 Most Powerful Brandz report is a major undertaking, congratulations to MB.
However, you may call me a cynic, but I always question huge percentage changes in data over a one year period.
For instance, are we to believe that during 2007
- Apple's brand value increased by 123%?
- Blackberry's brand value increased by 390%?
What it tells me more than anything is that the Millward Brown Brandz methodology, at least in some instances, is overly sensitive to input.
Having said that, the broad findings of the most powerful brands are most likely valid, but I wouldn't put a lot of stock in the yearly percent change in brand value.
The study ranks Google #1 in brand value worldwide. Maybe that's true. Maybe it's not.
Could Google's ranking, be in part, because the name is ubiquitous as both a noun and a verb or is it vice-versa?
It would be interesting to see what a buyer would pay to acquire Google, which consists primarily of intellectual property or intangible assets versus the #2 brand, GE, which consists primarily of physical assets.
David Goldstein quoted a Millward Brown exec that stated that “strong brands continue to outperform weak ones in terms of market share and share price during recessions.”
Again, I don't think so.
I'm not aware of a recession in the U.S. or worldwide during 2007, the study period. My understanding of economics is that a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP.
Again, am I being overly picky? You decide.
Finally, Millward Brown is to be congratulated on this major brand study, even with its perceived shortcomings by a sample of one.
Technorati Tags: Google, Blackberry, Apple, Brand Value, Global Brand, Market Share, Share Price
Posted by William Lozito at 10:33 AM
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April 14, 2008
Shared Names Breed Kinship—But Only If Your Name is NOT Your Brand
The New York Times reported last week on an interesting side effect of the now commonplace practice of ego surfing (looking yourself up in Google). People are making friends with their Googlegängers for the same reason women named Virginia move to Virginia: we have a natural affinity for people, places, and things that share our names.
Well, usually. If your namesake happens to be a porn star, you might not be so amused. And if your name is your brand, you might feel just as annoyed by the existence of Googlegängers as record company Apple Corps Ltd did when Apple Inc. (then Apple Computer Inc.) decided to go into the music-selling business.
A company can trademark its brand name and defend it against infringement and domain squatting, within reason, anyway. Apple Inc. challenges aspiring new brand name trademarks with impartial ruthlessness.
But you can’t trademark your own personal name, and you’re not likely to get very far if you accuse someone else who has as much right to the name as you do of domain squatting in order to cash in on your success, unless you are already far more famous than they are.
So if you’re not fortunate enough to be the only person with your personal name to show up in Google, or at the very least the first one to register that name as a domain, you might be better off giving your company a unique, memorable brand name. That gives you a chance to trademark it, grab the “.com” version, and establish your brand.
What’s more, creating a strong association between your name and your company’s helps distinguish you from your Googlegängers when friends and family are trying to find you online.
Technorati Tags: Googleganger, Apple Inc, Apple Corps Ltd, Google, Domain Names, Personal Name
Posted by Diane Prange at 8:05 AM
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April 2, 2008
Al Ries is Wrong About the Isuzu Brand Name
Al Ries wrote an interesting article about the demise of Isuzu. He says that one of the chief reasons that the brand died was because “it had a terrible name.”
Those of us who speak English prefer words or brand names that are perfectly balanced by vowel-consonant-vowel or consonant-vowel-consonant. We find these words and brand names easy to pronounce. Think Coca-Cola, Kodak, and Toyota.
Also think Isuzu. A great example of a brand name balanced by vowel-consonant-vowel.
Other Japanese auto brands are successful in the United States and are similar to Isuzu Brand.
- Subaru is pronounced similarly to Isuzu and the former has carved out a nice niche business in the U.S.
- And the Suzuki brand name is no easier or more difficult to pronounce than Isuzu and, as we know, Suzuki is successful in the U.S. with both motorcycles and autos.
Although I have the utmost respect for Mr. Ries, I have to respectfully disagree with him on this one.
If Isuzu failed in the U.S. it had as much to do with "terrible" marketing, or product mix, or timing.
How is the auto brand name Hyundai, which can be pronounced as either "Hun-day" or "Hun-die," (the former being the correct pronunciation) establishing itself as a brand to contend with in the U.S.?
It's not because of a "terrible" car brand name; it's because, I think, when Hyundai was introduced in the U.S. with its tagline, "Hyundai rhymes with Sunday," it educated U.S. consumers on how to pronounce the name.
Hyundai made a positive out of its brand name being pronounceable multiple ways, not unlike, Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) made a positive out of the unusual shape of the Volkswagen.
Sorry Al, Isuzu didn't fail in the U.S. because of its name, it failed for other reasons. Many other reasons.
Technorati Tags: Isuzu, Hyundai, Toyota, Suzuki, Doyle Dane Bernbach, Linguistics, Coca-Cola, Kodak, Volkswagen,
Posted by William Lozito at 8:00 AM
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March 27, 2008
Will Wal-Mart Ruling Start Parody Naming Trend?
In copyright law, parody counts as “fair use.” So too in trademark law, it would seem. Wal-Mart accused Georgia resident Charles Smith of infringing on its trademark by selling products emblazoned “Wal-ocaust” and “Wal-Qaeda.”
It’s no surprise that Wal-Mart doesn’t find these particular parodies amusing, but even if Smith’s sites didn’t feature prominent disclaimers, it’s unlikely anyone would find the names—or the logos, for that matter—“confusingly similar.” The average person is plenty smart enough to realize that none of the T-shirts, posters, or bumper stickers comes from Wal-Mart.
And that’s exactly what Judge Timothy Batten concluded, as WebProNews reported. Smith is free to go on using the names “Wal-ocaust” and “Wal-Qaeda” to sell products.
Of course, Smith’s aim is to make a political point, not establish a business. Any company that chooses its name as a parody of another company risks obsolescence once the subject of the parody is no longer a household name. Some brands might continue to flourish even if no one gets the joke anymore, but if Wal-Mart went out of business, there would be no market for Wal-ocaust T-shirts.
Which is probably just what Charles Smith would love to see happen.
Technorati Tags: Wal-Mart, Wal-ocaust, Wal-Qaeda, Trademark, Charles Smith, Judge Batten, Logos, T-Shirts, Bumper Stickers
Posted by William Lozito at 4:42 PM
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Motorola Brand Chief Asset of Recent Breakup
The Daily Herald has a good story up about the value of the Motorola name. The right move, they say, would be for one entity of the recently divided company to continue using the name, probably the Mobile Devices business.
That’s interesting, because as the Herald correctly points out, usually in similar cases the company name is scrapped altogether. That still could happen, not least because some people feel that offering investors the ailing handset business (the one most customers associate the Motorola name with) is, as Extra Tech so eloquently puts it, like “putting lipstick on a pig.”
The rot started in earnest, says GigaOm, when the RAZR (another well loved brand name in the Motorola stable) “stopped being the next new thing.” Ironically, the new MOTORZR truncates that name even further, while offering what looks like the same old thing.
Extra Tech says that “right now, Motorola is simply a brand,” but one that could be very attractive to Chinese manufacturers who have little, to no brand name recognition in the United States.
It's interesting to see the fortunes of a company (or senior executive for that matter) change so quickly. A year or two ago Ed Zander, Chairman of the Board for Motorola, was poking fun at Samsung's naming, calling them "Same Sung."
I agree. The Motorola name has simply too much equity to be tossed.
Technorati Tags: Motorola, Brand Name, RAZR, MOTORZR, Mobile Devices, Phones
Posted by William Lozito at 11:59 AM
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March 20, 2008
English Product Naming Appeals In Spain, Taiwan, China and the Ukraine
The news that Ukrainian firms are adopting Western images and naming to capture western market share falls in line with the trend worldwide to embrace English sounding names. A law firm that changed its name from Shevchenko Didovskiy & Partners to Asters is simply good business sense in a quickly globalizing world.
Taiwanese companies are also embracing English naming as are Chinese companies.
The headlines last month discussed a Chinese bun shop that had renamed itself “Go Believe,” which sounds a lot like the famous Chinese brand, Goubuli, which translates to "Dog wouldn't care it.”
Brand names often do not translate well from country to country: according to the Branding Strategy Insider.
The Mitsubishi Pajero had to be renamed in Spain because the word pajero is slang for "one who masturbates." No German will drink a latte because it is a slang term for an erection in Germany.
Technorati Tags: Naming, Go Believe, Goubuli, Pajero, Mitsubishi, Asters, English Names, Product Naming
Posted by William Lozito at 7:37 AM
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March 18, 2008
Bear Stearns Naming Especially Relevant Today
One of the things that has occurred to me as I read about the JP Morgan buyout of of Bear Sterns was how a company with the word “bear” in it managed to do so well on Wall Street in the first place? Patrick O’Callahan in the News Tribune wonders the same thing, asking “Why not Bull Stearns, Windfall Stearns or Rally Stearns?”
Names that might be avoided, according to Callahan, would be “Crash Stearns, Panic Stearns, Nosedive Stearns, Sell-Off Stearns, Lemming Stearns and Halloween Stearns.” The Daily Dopeness suggests that the new name might be JPBearBernankeMorganStearnsChase. 
Fact is, they are certainly living up to their name (the first part, anyway).
Then again, Callahan's naming might seem very apt to poor old Bear Stearns today.
Technorati Tags: Naming, Bear Stearns, JP Morgan, Callahan, Buyout
Posted by William Lozito at 7:45 AM
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March 17, 2008
Wall Street Journal Discovers that Naming and Branding Crucial to Small Biz Success
The Small Business section of the Wall Street Journal has a very good article up entitled “Name That Firm,” that indicates that “selecting a name is one of the most important decisions a company will ever make.” A sentiment that I completely agree with.
The article looks at some common pitfalls that come from not putting enough thought into the naming of your company and your brand.
Funnily enough, the Chicago Tribune has a great piece up about rebranding, something many people wind up doing when their first effort at naming and branding starts to wilt. Of course, this is also a pursuit that occupies the time of many a name consultant.
The Small Business Blog has some good ideas on the subject and gives a good idea of the complexity around choosing a good name. You may go ahead and do it yourself, or you just may decide to engage a naming service.
Laurie Ayers has some thoughts on bad naming that you might want to consider, and Donald Rush has some pretty good ideas as well.
Naming and Branding is indeed very complex and its best to get it right the first time. I find it interesting to note just how often companies almost get their naming right, and end up renaming their company.
Technorati Tags: Naming, Branding, Company Naming, Rebranding, "Name that Firm"
Posted by William Lozito at 7:43 AM
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March 10, 2008
Brand Names and Meatball Sundaes
Phillip Davis from the Tungsten Branding Blog recently interviewed Seth Godin on his Name Game podcast. The proposed topic of discussion was whether a brand name can be a “meatball sundae.”
For those who haven’t read Godin’s latest book, a “meatball sundae” occurs when a company tries to use Web 2.0 marketing without changing its whole approach to doing business. I was a bit curious as to how a name could be a meatball sundae.
The interview didn’t really answer that question, but did include some memorable comments about product naming from the marketing guru who describes his job as “making a ruckus.”
First, Seth Godin makes the point during the interview that naming your company after a minor character in Moby-Dick is a move no branding expert would advise, but nevertheless Starbucks has been wildly successful.
“The name had nothing to do with their success. And words like Google and eBay are terrible, terrible names, and yet the products succeed despite the name. […] The future of every naming agency [is] not going to be coming up with clever window-dressing. […] Those are the most creative, most confident people in business. The clients need to let them in the door. They need to let them sit with the engineers, sit with the product designers, sit with the customer service people, and design experiences that people remember.”
That scenario seems unlikely to me at the moment, yet it would certainly ensure that those charged with naming a product knew its features and benefits inside out, and also knew the company culture. That kind of collaboration would unquestionably make it easier to come up with an appropriate name, even if it wouldn’t eliminate constraints like the need to find a name that hasn’t been trademarked yet.
Although Seth's advice is helpful, I think it's overly simplistic:
“Pick a name where you’re the only one, where you don’t have to pay a million dollars for the domain name, where you have the ability to spread the word from person to person to person without worrying about getting it misspelled, without worrying about it getting confused.”
The interview concludes with the following statement about the part brand names play in a business:
“The great companies, the great organizations, non-profits, schools, everything—are the ones who challenge our perception of the way the world is, and your name should do the same thing.”
For more of Seth Godin’s thoughts about naming, read the following posts from his blog:
• The new rules of naming
• Sloppy naming
• Being brave with names
• Naming a business
We might not agree with every statement in every post, but Seth Godin is always good, thought-provoking reading.
Technorati Tags: Seth Godin, Meatball Sunday, Name Game, Starbucks, Google, Brand Names, Naming
Posted by Diane Prange at 10:59 AM
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February 20, 2008
Kirstie Alley: Diet Brand Naming For The Rest of Us
The news that Kirstie Alley is going to start her own weight loss brand makes sense because so many people identify with her very public struggles with her weight.
She seems to be ready to leave Jenny Craig, where she has been the spokesperson for three years, with few regrets and best wishes to all.
Now, she has announced that she is the accidental role model for people who are struggling with the fatty roller coaster ride. Alley has a bevy of detractors, but many people support the idea of her striking out on her own, including the Diets in Review Blog. Her only problem might be that so many people liked her show Fat Actress, that her overweight persona might hurt her support for branding a weight loss product.
The actual brand name has not been announced, but I would suggest that she use her own name or a derivative of it. Kirstie Alley is somebody whose imperfections mirror our own, and she might just snag a niche market of people who are turned off by the saccharine perfection of other diet brands.
Kirstie’s would sort of be the diet brand for the rest of us.
Technorati Tags: Diet, Kirstie Alley, Jenny Craig, Weight Loss, Brand Naming, Fat Actress
Posted by William Lozito at 7:33 AM
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February 13, 2008
Does TuitionTree Brand Naming Make Sense?
Yesterday, on Trademork, I read something troubling about online loan service LendingTree.
Already facing a class action suit for “unfair business practices and false advertising," it has decided to offer a similar student loan service called TuitionTree.
I do think that TuitionTree is an improvement over the LendingTree brand name but worry that this kind of bad publicity could hurt any venture that ends in Tree. 
Rumory suggests that the entire LendingTree model is doomed anyway.
The next generation of real estate loan engines will be more personalized and will feature Web 2.0 naming like Zillow and Trulia.
Expect to see the same in the realm of tuition searching.
Technorati Tags: TuitionTree, LendingTree, Brand Naming, Zillow, Trulia, Loan Service, Lawsuit, Money Tree
Posted by William Lozito at 8:05 AM
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February 8, 2008
Return of Detroit Electric Car Turns Company Naming Back a Century
I think that it is great news that the Detroit Electric Car brand name will see light again after a hundred year absence, even if the first offices will actually be in California.
The reintroduction of a car carrying the brand name favored by the likes of Thomas Edison and John D Rockerfeller Jr. is a joint venture between US electric car company ZAP and China Youngman Automotive Group.
The Zap Alias model will carry the Detroit Electric Car brand naming. The company’s base in California will help solidify that state as the heart of alternative energy cars, especially electric cars. I do have to wonder if anyone finds it funny that the Detroit name will be appended to a company that really has nothing to do with Motown, but I am always pleased to see a classic name make a comeback.
I’ve said it before: you just can’t kill a good brand.
Possibly the name of the new company will remind car buyers that electric cars were once very popular in the US and not seen as alternatives at all.
Technorati Tags: Detroit, Electric Car, Zap, Alias, Brand Naming, Energy
Posted by William Lozito at 7:31 AM
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January 30, 2008
Schrager’s Edition Naming and Branding Already a Classic
It’s official, contrary to a recent article in the NY Post, Ian Schrager will not be naming his new line of boutique hotels after himself.
Instead, the new name for the upscale chain he is creating with Bill Marriott will be Edition and is set to offer serious competition for Starwood’s W brand, currently the lead in boutique hotel space.
Look for hotels in Paris, Madrid, Costa Rica, Miami, Washington, Chicago and Scottsdale, as well as two in LA.
Andrew Calvo calls the new name genius. Each hotel will have a Town Edition, so travelers will see them as LA Edition, Costa Rica Edition and so forth.
New York seems to be in the cards and the chain should grow to 100 Editions worldwide. I think this is interesting brand naming and melds the idea of upscale hotels with the boutique concept, which until now has targeted the business traveler looking for something special.
No word yet on the logo or tagline, but from what I see so far, you can already book me a room!
Technorati Tags: Edition Hotels, Schrager, Marriot, Starwood, Branding, Naming
Posted by William Lozito at 7:35 AM
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January 29, 2008
Sears and Halston Return to their Brand Naming Roots
The old adage “Know Thyself” is certainly true when it comes to popular brands.
Two news stories today put this into bold relief: the first is the return of glamour fashion brand names Halston and Ossie Clark, both of which died when they tried to move into popular, low brow fashion, but which have experienced a revival in recent years thanks to the likes of Kate Moss and Jennifer Aniston (pictured right, wearing a Halston dress). Maybe this time they will have learned something about sticking to their target markets.
The second was addressed by Jack Trout on Forbes.com yesterday when he wrote about the various brand names that helped build Sears: Kenmore, Craftsman, Die-Hard and Weatherbeater.
These are legendary brand names in American culture and are synonymous with the Sears brand name.
Trout suggests that allowing them to be sold by other retailers could spell disaster for Sears, adding that he feels that Sears should take over the Kmart brand naming altogether and present a united, unique front to Wal-Mart and Target.
It would be very interesting to see Kmart suddenly turn into Sears, which would immediately increase the brand name’s presence nationally. More importantly, it would be an over promise and is inconsistent with the merchandise offered in the current Kmart stores. In other words, this would be a band-aid fix.
Sometimes a brand name has to return to its origins to move forward, and remember the values customers have traditionally associated with their brand.
Technorati Tags: Halston, Ossie Clark, Sears, Kmart, Brand Naming, Kenmore, Craftsman, Die-Hard, Weatherbeater, Jennifer Aniston
Posted by William Lozito at 7:28 AM
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January 28, 2008
Disaboom Creates Brand Naming Buzz
Given the list of pejorative terms including the morpheme "dis" you might be forgiven for trepidations about what a "Disaboom" might prove to be. In reality, it’s a new social network designed to “connect the millions affected by disability,” and it’s attracting attention in the blogosphere with its “disabled people are sexy” ads.
Like Colours in Motion, the makers of the "Spazz" wheelchair, Disaboom aims to overturn preconceptions about disability and disabled people. But “Disaboom” avoids the cringe factor of “Spazz.” While the site doesn’t provide an explanation of the name, I can think of several possible reasons for incorporating the word “boom” into the name:
- Exploding myths about what it means to be disabled: boom!
- The effect spinal cord injuries and diseases like MS have on your reality: boom!
- The fun you can have on the site with like-minded people: boom!
- The increase in visitors and site membership as a result of their ads and videos: boom!
Technorati Tags: Disaboom, Spazz, Brand Naming, Boom,
Posted by William Lozito at 10:14 AM
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January 14, 2008
Embracing English Naming Trend, Panasonic Drops Matsushita’s from Brand Name
The news that Panasonic is dropping “Matsushita” from its brand naming has been applauded across the blogosphere. As Thomas Ricker at Engadget points out, it might be hard to lose the founder’s name, but the “dual-naming scheme hurt both brands and created confusion in the global marketplace.” Lee Distad, however, notes that Panasonic’s well regarded Technics brand name is still going strong.
An article in The Daily Yomiuri Online takes a good look at the naming strategy that Panasonic is embracing, and the belief that a single, congruent brand name is the means through which Panasonic will re-energize its brand and initiate a “second phase in the company’s history.”
More than that, there is a definite trend towards English-sounding names and abbreviations happening in Japanese company naming. Two notable examples are:- until 2002 Pentax was officially Asahi Kogaku Kogyo
- until 1983 popular tape brand TDK was officially Tokyo Denki Kagaku Kogyo.
This move towards English sounding names will only accelerate since the Justice Minister, in 2002, ruled that Japanese companies can use Roman characters in their name.
Technorati Tags: Panasonic, Pentax, Matsushita, English Naming Trend
Posted by William Lozito at 10:29 AM
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